2010 Road America Events

[Quinn]

http://roadamerica.com/

We will probably go to the Kohler Challenge in July for at least one day and for sure to the ALMS race in August.

Hope some of you can join us!
~Quinn

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Both events look great. The Vintage races would be fun...I'm a fan of both the Can-Am cars and the late Mark Donohue.

The ALMS race is a week later this year, which is nice. It's not back to back with Mid-Ohio.

 

[Quinn]

KOHLER® International Challenge with Brian Redman

Just thought I'd let you know our plans...

David and I and Hannah and D2 are going to the Vintage races on Sunday, July 18. We made reservations at the Hampton Inn in West Bend for Saturday nite. Not sure if Barbie can join us, or not.

Saturday we are going to the village for:
6:00 PM — 8:00 PM — Road & Track Concours d’Elegance for Sport Cars
(streets of downtown Elkhart Lake)

We are going to the track on Sunday for the races. Here's the weekend schedule:
https://www.roadamerica.com/userfiles/file/2010 Schedules/KIC PUBLIC Schedule updated 7-2-10.pdf

Sunday we'll park in the Corvette Corral with David's car, and if I can sweet talk the president of the Corvette club that runs the corral, I might be able to sneak the Barbie Car in too. (Parked at the back, like last year.)

It'd be great if some of you could join us! Today or tomorrow is the last day to get discount tickets - check the website.
~Quinn

 

[Quinn]

ALMS/ Hooked on Driving

Our reservations for August 21-23 are at the Best Western in Manitowoc.
http://www.bestwesternwisconsin.com/hotels/best-western-lakefront-hotel/

Saturday, we're just doing Lake Michigan stuff near Manitowoc. The maritime museum, etc.

We are only doing the race day (Sunday) and then will spend Monday at the track for David to do the Hooked on Driving event.

https://www.roadamerica.com/Races/RaceInformation.asp?id=28

http://www.hookedondriving.com/event-details/August_23_Road_America,_Elkhart_Lake,_WI

Be great to see some of you guys there!

~C

 

[ChicagoDave]

Our reservations for August 21-23 are at the Best Western in Manitowoc.
http://www.bestwesternwisconsin.com/hotels/best-western-lakefront-hotel/

Saturday, we're just doing Lake Michigan stuff near Manitowoc. The maritime museum, etc.

We are only doing the race day (Sunday) and then will spend Monday at the track for David to do the Hooked on Driving event.

https://www.roadamerica.com/Races/RaceInformation.asp?id=28

http://www.hookedondriving.com/event-details/August_23_Road_America,_Elkhart_Lake,_WI

Be great to see some of you guys there!

~C

Hey Cathy,

I'm trying to get up there that weekend for the race AND the Hooked on Driving. I'd love to do it - just need to convince my wife that is not too dangerous. I've already put in for time off on that Monday. I will keep you posted. I'll try to get my hotel reservations as soon as I can. I sure would like to see some other XLR's up there. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Quinn]

Hey Cathy,

just need to convince my wife that is not too dangerous.

Our 21 year old daughter, Hannah, did it last year - she really loved it. An instructor rides with you. You only go as fast as you want to and there's plenty of room on the track.

I'm still thinking about doing it with my XLR...

 

[ChicagoDave]

Our 21 year old daughter, Hannah, did it last year - she really loved it. An instructor rides with you. You only go as fast as you want to and there's plenty of room on the track.

I'm still thinking about doing it with my XLR...

YOU SHOULD!!

 

[cubby558]

Supa & I won't be able to make the vintage races this year--we will be on the Harley in West Virginia.

Have to look at the dates for the ALMS and hooked on driving this week to see if we can make that one!

Just thought I'd let you know our plans...

David and I and Hannah and D2 are going to the Vintage races on Sunday, July 18. We made reservations at the Hampton Inn in West Bend for Saturday nite. Not sure if Barbie can join us, or not.

Saturday we are going to the village for:
6:00 PM — 8:00 PM — Road & Track Concours d’Elegance for Sport Cars
(streets of downtown Elkhart Lake)

We are going to the track on Sunday for the races. Here's the weekend schedule:
https://www.roadamerica.com/userfiles/file/2010 Schedules/KIC PUBLIC Schedule updated 7-2-10.pdf

Sunday we'll park in the Corvette Corral with David's car, and if I can sweet talk the president of the Corvette club that runs the corral, I might be able to sneak the Barbie Car in too. (Parked at the back, like last year.)

It'd be great if some of you could join us! Today or tomorrow is the last day to get discount tickets - check the website.
~Quinn

 

[Quinn]

ALMS at Elkhart Lake

D2 and I will have a white canopy at the corvette corral on Sunday - if anybody else is going - stop by and say Hi. If we're not there, we're at #5 or Canada Corner.

David is on vacation with Hannah and Julia (Vegas for Barbie's 21st) and he said we could take his car!

I'm really excited for this one, after seeing how great the racing was at Mid-Ohio!

~C

 

[Cadillac Tech]

From Oliver Gavin:
Rolling on a high to Road America and Mosport
This coming weekend sees the first of two back-to-back races for Olly in North America as the super-competitive American Le Mans Series moves into the final third of the season for rounds 7 and 8.
On a high from a superb second place in the GT class at Mid Ohio two weeks ago – finishing just 0.5 seconds behind the winner after two hours and 45 minutes of racing – the 37-year-old can’t wait to show what he and his Corvette Racing C.6R can do on the scenic 4.05 mile Road America track in Wisconsin and the 2.45 mile fast track at Mosport in Ontario, Canada.
“I’m really looking forward to this weekend as I love coming back to Road America,” said Olly, who has been enjoying a holiday with his family in the North Eastern region of the States. “It’s a great track with a corner for every sort of racing driver. There are so many different sorts of corners here including some great high speed ones, good elevation changes, and some good, long, heavy braking zones where you can overtake people plus long straights for towing up behind people. It’s a great race track and it makes for good racing.
“Road America is the longest track we race on throughout the year in the ALMS, and it’s the most similar to Le Mans. In France this year our car was extremely competitive and fast so we hope to be able to have the same sort of performance here this weekend. Coming off the back of Mid Ohio’s result two weeks ago, where we had such a great race with Jaime Melo in the Ferrari, we hope we can continue that – preferably with the positions the other way round. I’m looking forward to another action packed weekend with lots of good racing and lots for people to see and enjoy.
“I think the BMWs will be more of a challenge here than at Mid Ohio and the Dunlop tyres are going to be good. That car is very, very fast on the straights and the team is slowly but surely getting a handle on their car and knowing where they need to be quick and where they don’t. They have been making some very good pit calls recently and seem to be keeping everyone on their toes with some unusual strategies like they used at Mid Ohio to keep their cars at the front of the field, even though they weren’t as fast as some other entries.
“I think there are so many strong cars now in this GT class that you can’t take your eye off the ball at all. Everyone’s got a strength; the Flying Lizard Porsche is always going to be strong and competitive, they’ve got good strategy and drivers, and the Risi Ferraris will of course be excellent with Jaime and Gimmi, Mika and Pierre. It’s getting stronger each race and is really a great field. The American Le Mans Series has got to be very happy with what they’ve got right now.”
The ALMS moves directly after this weekend north to Canada for the penultimate round of the Championship. Many of the teams, including Corvette, will be carrying out a pre-race test session on Wednesday (August 25) so it will be a busy week at a track which holds great memories for Olly.
“Mosport is another fast track and we’ve all got great memories of the place after our first win there last year with the GT car. Everyone enjoys going there because it’s fast, flowing and has some really challenging corners where you’re testing yourself as well as the car; your own sense of where the limit is will be constantly stretched and tested. I really enjoy it and we had a good car there last year and hope to repeat that. Olivier and I want to get that little monkey off our backs and get a victory at some point this year.”

 

[Cadillac Tech]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]FOR THE FANS - AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES PRESENTED BY TEQUILA PATRÓN[/FONT]
FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 2010


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]CATCH ALL THE ACTION FROM ROAD AMERICA![/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Live qualifying online Saturday with SPEED race broadcast at 3p ET Sunday[/FONT]

Wanting a preview of what you’ll see when the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón races Sunday at Road America? Visit americanlemans.com starting at 4:05 p.m. CT on Saturday to watch Live Qualifying presented by Porsche for the American Le Mans Series powered by eStar. See the sights of Road America, catch the call from SPEED and stay glued to the screen for Live Timing and Scoring...all in the same place!

Then on Sunday, tune into SPEED at 3 p.m. ET for the seventh round of the 2010 championship. Or turn down the TV and visit Racehub at americanlemans.com for John Hindhaugh’s call of the race on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche, a production of Radio Show Ltd.

Live Timing and Scoring is available at Racehub, on your smartphone or through the Series’ iPhone app!

For the latest news from the weekend, visit the Series’ official site or stay connected through Facebook and Twitter!
American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón
1394 Broadway Avenue
Braselton, GA 30517
americanlemans.com

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Corvette Racing Qualifies One-Two in Road America
Gavin Wins First GT Pole of Season for Corvette, Magnussen Takes Second Spot
ELKHART LAKE, Wis., Aug. 21, 2010 – Corvette Racing qualified first and second in the GT class for Sunday's American Le Mans Series powered by eStar at Road America. Oliver Gavin set the time to beat with his fastest lap at 2:06.509 (115.192mph) in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R. Jan Magnussen responded with a 2:06.674 to put the No. 3 Compuware Corvette in the second qualifying spot, just .165 seconds off Gavin's pole-winning time.
"It's fantastic for the Corvettes to be one-two," said Gavin after he captured his 19th career ALMS pole. "This is not a victory, but it's a really good step in the right direction. It's so close in the GT class that you have to push to the max all the time. I did that, and got a good result."
Gavin set his quick time on his second flying lap, with Magnussen a heartbeat behind. The 20-minute qualifying was then red-flagged to retrieve a car from the circuit, leaving just enough time on the clock for final qualifying runs. Both Corvettes completed one flyer before the checkered flag flew, with Magnussen cutting Gavin's margin to a razor-thin .165 seconds. The team then had to wait out the final laps by their rivals to see if their times would hold.
"My car was right in the sweet spot for that one lap, and I was trying to recreate that the next time out," Gavin said. "But the tires had cooled, and going out again the car lost that little edge. Jan did a really phenomenal job to pull that lap out after the stop.
"It was one of those qualifying sessions where you're hoping it's all going to go your way with traffic and with your decisions on the setup," said the Briton. "The Corvette engineering team made a really great call just before the start of the session. The car feels much like it did in Le Mans, so I feel very confident."
Magnussen was sitting in a gravel trap in the final minutes of practice after going off in Turn 8. The car was undamaged, and after being towed out, the Dane was primed and ready for a fast qualifying run.
"We made a huge improvement to the car in the last practice – I don't think we've ever made an improvement like that," Magnussen said. "I made a small mistake and went off, but fortunately we didn't damage anything. We've moved the car from being rather difficult to drive to a proper race car, and I'm very, very happy.
"A Corvette one-two in qualifying is fantastic, but I'm a competitive person and I'd like to be No. 1," he conceded. "With this setup, we can charge a little more, and it should be an excellent race car."
Today's pole was the first in ALMS competition for Corvette Racing since Magnussen won the pole in the series' 2009 season finale in Monterey, Calif. Gavin was the fastest GT2 qualifier at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.
"It's certainly great for Corvette Racing to be back on top," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "You can never underestimate the value of testing in the development of a new product and the continuous improvement of that product. Testing is what got Corvette Racing to where we qualified today."
The two-hour, 45-minute American Le Mans Series powered by eStar at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., will start at 2:05 p.m. CT on Sunday, August 22, and will be televised live on SPEED at 3 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio, Sirius Channel 127, and XM Channel 242. Follow CorvetteRacing on Twitter for real-time pit notes.
American Le Mans Series powered by eStar GT Qualifying:
Pos./Drivers/Car/Time
1. Gavin/Beretta, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 2:06.509
2. O'Connell/Magnussen, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 2:06.674
3. Salo/Kaffer, Ferrari 430 GT, 2:06.997
4. Mueller/Hand, BMW E92 M3, 2:07.222
5. Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:07.392
6. Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 430 GT, 2:07.455
7. Melo/Bruni, Ferrari 430 GT, 2:07.561
8. Auberlen/Milner, BMW E92 M3, 2:07.716
9. Sellers/Henzler, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:07.939
10. Robertson/Robertson/Murry, Ford GT, 2:08.703
11. Goossens/Dalziel, Jaguar XKRS, 2:10.084
12. Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari 430 GT, 2:15.710
13. Law/Neiman, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 2:20.428

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Corvette Racing Finishes Third and Fourth in Road America
Gavin and Beretta Post Second Straight Podium Finish
ELKHART LAKE, Wis., Aug. 22, 2010 – Corvette Racing finished third and fourth today in the seventh round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series at the fast Road America circuit. Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta followed up their runner-up finish at Mid-Ohio with a third today in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R after a charge from ninth in the final hour. They completed 66 laps on the 4.048-mile circuit and finished 4.945 seconds behind the winning No. 90 BMW of Dirk Mueller and Joey Hand. Jan Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell piloted the No. 3 Compuware Corvette to fourth, 8.405 seconds behind their teammates as the top nine GT cars finished on the lead lap.
"It was another good result for the No. 4 Corvette and a good result for the team," said Gavin, who drove the final two stints. "At the end we didn't have quite enough to take on (runner-up) Patrick Long or catch the BMW – it seemed like we used everything up trying to get to the front from the back of the pack. We had a huge amount of ground to gain, and we certainly made up a lot of it."
The Corvettes started first and second in the intensely competitive GT field, with Beretta in the pole-winning No. 4 Corvette and O'Connell in the No. 3 Corvette. The first of four full-course cautions slowed the pace after only three laps. Both Beretta and O'Connell lost positions on the restart, and when the second caution period began after nine laps, the No. 3 Corvette pitted for fuel only while the No. 4 stayed out.
"I had a very good start and the car was working well," Beretta said. "When the second yellow came and we stayed under caution for many laps, I knew it would be difficult on the restart. I had so much pickup on the tires that it was hard to stay on the track. I just tried to do as much as I could without making a mistake."
O'Connell's pit stop dropped him to seventh in the queue, while Beretta was back in the lead. But as the laps went by, both Corvettes struggled to maintain grip.
"At the start of the race I was thinking we were going to be pretty good, but then we lost the handle," O'Connell said. "The early part was a lot of fun, but after we filled it with fuel and didn't take new tires, it was tough from that point on."
Shortly after the first hour, Beretta handed off the No. 4 Corvette on a green-flag stop to Gavin, who rejoined in 11th place. Seventeen minutes later, the No. 3 Corvette pitted under caution and Magnussen replaced O'Connell. Both Corvettes pitted under the fourth caution at 1:41, taking on enough E85 ethanol to run to the finish. Gavin moved from seventh to fifth in the span of four laps, and after Magnussen ceded fourth to him on the 53rd lap, Gavin set off in hot pursuit of the leaders. Both Corvettes passed the No. 62 Ferrari of Gianmaria Bruni on lap 54 and began to reel in the No. 45 Porsche of Patrick Long in a fight for second.
"I thought, 'All right, game on!'" Gavin reported. "I got up behind Patrick and it was like flipping a switch, and we really started to struggle. We were working the left-side tires pretty hard, and that's something that the team will continue to work on as we develop the GT-spec Corvette. Olivier drove very, very well at the start, and had a really tough time with the caution periods and the pickup on the tires. All in all, we're very pleased to come home with another podium finish for Corvette Racing."
Magnussen held fourth to the finish, and had a front-row seat for the battle between the Corvette and Porsche.
"Had things gone differently with the safety cars and the pit stops, maybe the result could have been different," Magnussen said. "It was hard to have a good car for the whole stint, and everybody was struggling a little bit. We've still got some work to do, but for sure we are going in the right direction with podium finishes. But we want to be winning races so we'll keep working."
Corvette Racing’s next event is the Mobil 1 presents the Grand Prix of Mosport at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. The two-hour, 45-minute race will start at 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 29. The race will be televised tape-delayed on SPEED from 4 – 7 p.m. ET. Live radio coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio, Sirius Channel 127, and XM Channel 242.
American Le Mans Series powered by eStar GT Results:

Pos./Drivers/Car/Laps 1. Mueller/Hand, BMW M3 GT, 66
2. Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 66
3. Gavin/Beretta, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 66
4. O'Connell/Magnussen, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, 66
5. Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari 430 GT, 66
6. Melo/Bruni, Ferrari 430 GT, 66
7. Salo/Kaffer, Ferrari 430 GT, 66
8. Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari 430 GT, 66
9. Law/Neiman, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 66
10. Sellers/Henzler, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 65
11. Robertson/Robertson/Murry, Ford GT-R, 59
12. Goossens/Dalziel, Jaguar XKRS, 26
13. Auberlen/Milner, BMW M3 GT, 8

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Race video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxzsLVnJ6k0&feature=related

 

[Cadillac Tech]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chRKsc6DRpE&feature=related

 

[Quinn]

Very Cool, Bruce! Thanks for posting these!

Hope that some MMs can make the trip to Road America next Summer!
(I said 'Summer,' Gizmo - we really do have it up here)

~Quinn

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Very Cool, Bruce! Thanks for posting these!

Hope that some MMs can make the trip to Road America next Summer!
(I said 'Summer,' Gizmo - we really do have it up here)

~Quinn

Quinn, I'm glad you enjoyed them. It's a great race track. Maybe we can make it up for the ALMS race next year. We'll need to look into hotels for the group.

 

[GizmoQ]

Very Cool, Bruce! Thanks for posting these!

Hope that some MMs can make the trip to Road America next Summer!
(I said 'Summer,' Gizmo - we really do have it up here)

~Quinn

I wonder why I got single out. I'll check my calendar and add it.